Oh come on! Don't piss on the blokes parade, he did a cracking job & brought it into school to show us If it falls off, it falls off, it's worth a finger just for the story. Can you imagine it in a few years time..."so Granddad, what really happened to your finger........"

GP here. Personally I would have had it seen in A&E / minor injuries unit, as the risk of infection is very real and really wouldn't be fun. Tetanus up to date? No one can make you go, so if you decide against going to hospital, at least give the following a read.

If you find the range of movement in the finger is reduced go to hospital - you might have partially lacerated the extensor tendon and it could rupture - a finger stuck in a flexed position forever is going to get annoying.

You could have damaged the nerve in the finger (they run down the sides and back of the digits) so you could end up with some numbness if you are unlucky. If the finger goes white or cold, it needs to be seen as you may have sliced one of its arteries (bled a lot, didn't it!).

I wouldn't leave sutures in for more than 5-7 days (what did you use?) to try and reduce (!) the risk of infection. At least see a practice nurse for a wound check and to have the sutures out - appointments should be easy to come by. For reference, when we close a wound with sutures we try to halve the wound with each suture - that way you dont have so much tension and are less likely to end up with dog ears at the end of the wound.

Obviously none of this counts as formal medical advice as I haven't seen the finger, but at least give it some thought.

Actually, thank you all for your constructive advice and pointers. I will ensure that the Landy has a first aid kit installed asap. To include some Loctite 401 and a hair dryer, amongst other things.

Well, you'll be disappointed to learn that I didn't suffer septicaemia, have to lop it off with a pair of bolt cutters (don't put it past me...), drop in to A&E or have it sorted properly.

Being of mixed Celtic heritage I have the fortune of being blessed with the constitution of an Ox, a high pain threshold, and being impervious to rain and cold Handy with the work I do, but not such a hit with ladies.